Retire by 30, thanks nursing!

[ThePrestige]

Ok check this out, i have a plan to retire by the age of 30:

I'm 21 yrs old and about to graduate a ADN program

i will spend 1 year gaining experience in the ICU, then i will spend the next 8 years as a per-diem or traveling nurse, working no less then 60 hrs a week, 11 months a year.

so heres the math:

40hrs X $43hr = $6880 month

20hrs X $65 hr = $5200 month

total (net income) $8100 month

$2500 month living expenses so $5600 month to invest

Starting with $5,000 and depositing $5,600 monthly over 8 years (at a rate of return 12%, compounded monthly and taxed at your marginal rate of 28%), you will save $769,593.Initial balance:$5,000Total deposits:$537,600Total interest earned:$315,268Total taxes paid:$88,275Total Saved: $769,593

Now i understand that 769K will be different due to inflation 8 yrs from now, so we will say 669k so at 10% a year $66,000 a year!

Now for 8yrs i will work my ass off and be traveling and have little social life, but at age 30 i will never have to work again, and i will probably never want to in nursing cause i will be burnt out, but i think it would be worth it, what do you think?

[DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN]

Hey, can't a girl dream? I say if you can swing it, more power to ya! :

I believe the OP is a guy but yeah if he can swing it (safely) go for it!

[MNmom3boys]

At least you get a bigger tax write off than us without kids.

Yes, but it doesn't come close to offsetting their "cost"... (Mentally or financially )

Signed, a mother of two teenagers

[usyankee]

Did anyone mention how exhausting nursing is to her? Mentally, emotionally, and physically? There is no way one could keep at that pace for very long. And if one gets married and makes less than you do... it's bye bye money, and you may even have to pay alimony. Be hopeful, realistic, and look out for all those bumps in the road none of us plan on....

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Did anyone mention how exhausting nursing is to her? Mentally, emotionally, and physically? There is no way one could keep at that pace for very long. And if one gets married and makes less than you do... it's bye bye money, and you may even have to pay alimony. Be hopeful, realistic, and look out for all those bumps in the road none of us plan on....

Yes, did mention those concerns and I think we pretty much covered all angles in the 24 pages of this thread. :) The op is a male btw, and he stated the only way to know if he can't handle it is to try. Gotta give the guy his props for trying.

[mirry007]

if you retire by 30, what will you do in your 40's? it's really boring being retired, i mean, how much golf/shopping/ travelling/ sleeping can you do? it's much better to carry on working 60-70 hrs weeks (including holidays) and then when you die at the age of 47 from overwork/ bad heart/ bad feet all your relatives will be very happy with you. look how much you left them in your will!! on the other hand, maybe you intend to retire at 30 by marrying a very old and rich 82 yr old???:[:idea:/font]balloons:

[lucy1976]

Hi always Learning!

First of all Big congrats on your very forward thinking!!! I love Goal setters like you.

Second.... DO NOT.. Listen to any naysayers at all, if that's your goal, you will achieve it. Set your mind to it, and you will do it!! You'll be surprised at what happens when you set goals and dream big.. Have you watched "The secret"? If you haven't, please do. Also read a book called " Write it down, make it happen." It's amazing how things manifest themselves once we set our minds. One thing you'll find is that once you set your mind to something and believe that it will happen, it really will, maybe not exactly through the same way you planned, but somehow you get there...

My husband and I had an almost ambitious goal, I graduated Nursing school at 29, We planned to Retire by 45, and have accumulated 2.5 million by then, which we would then re-invest and live on the interest, we were conservative and assumed 10% return, and monthy, $ 6,000, with an initial deposit of $ 10,000.

Our MAIN GOAL was to stop working while STILL YOUNG enough to enjoy life..

Since we have always lived on his income, the plan was to save all i make and invest it. The first step offcourse was to pay off debt and to make sure we cut on uneccesary things. we really and truly believed that our dream of early retirement would come true. Very often we would review our goals and see how we are doing..

Like i mentioned earlier, once you set your goal, things just start happening that move you towards your goal.....

Intially we thought only my income alone would get us to our goal, but lo and behold, i later discovered the Stock market, and on some stocks and options we have had as much as 600% return in a year, i did lots of reserach and only invested in the booming sectors, Solar, agriculture, metals and dry bulk shippers. Stocks like First Solar, Monsanto, etc. We also decided to invest in rental properties and we are now 6 months away from completing a 13 unit apartment complex abroad, which initially we thought would only bring about $4000-5000 a month, but we later found out that we really had underestimated the amount and rents will be higher since the area is a very high demand neighbourhood, and now our estimate is

$ 7,000/month! and most of the units are already pre-booked! We later plan to own about 4-5 such properties, and as you can see,

$ 2.5million is now only a few years away! And yes, we do have a construction loan to pay off, but the rental income will pay that off an about 2 years, and in the mean time my income will be working of the second project, which we've already bought the land for..So basically, even though we don't get to $2.5m in cash, by age 45 we will have a stream of income from the properties, and i will not have to work, unless i want to... So my dear friend, that is the power of a dream...

One piece of advice i would have for you though is sometimes, it's not always a good idea to tell people all your goals and dreams, especially the ones that seem very out of reach, coz you will get more people to discourage you, and that eventually does chip away at your zeal and the naivity that is sometimes needed to achieve "impossible" dreams. Another thing is that, you might be better off working PRN at a busy hospital, and making $ 35-40/hr base, with differentials of like 6/hr for weekends, and 4-5/hr for nights, and then work most weekends, some hospitals pay as much as $ 9/hr extra for weekends. Last year i made an average for $ 70000-7500/month doing this, and i usually worked around 50 hrs. whn you're PRN instead of agency, they don't have as many restrictions on your OT, coz you're still a staff member, it's just that you don't get benefits. The hospital i worked in did not have a problem with us opting out of benefits and getting the PRN rate, also OT was not an issue. What you need to do though is to get ICU experience, so you can work on most units, then you'll never be short of hours. Also, it helps to have TELE/medsurg too, like after 6 months, you can start orienting to a tele floor so you can learn to manage 4-6 patients.

The other advantage of being PRN is that you get paid to go to classes etc, while if you're agency you're not....

One more thing,...once you have your ICU experience and feel comfortable, move on to "easier" units like PACU, Daysurgery etc, coz of downtime in these units, it's so much easier to so 5-6 12hr shifts, most people telling you that it's impossible to work that many hours probably work in "hard ' floors, and that's really a choice that they made....

Anyway, that's all from me.

Best wishes in all your ventures!!

[lucy1976]

I agree with Mike,

Also i think the problem, really is people trying to keep up with your neighbours, so many people literally throw money away by leasing fancy cars, or having huge payments, yet you can save so much by buying a used car and paying for it outright, ..( but no!.. what will the neigbours think!)..sad.. Yet people are okay spending sleepless nights worrying about bills!! Look at the mortgage crisis that we have now, that's threatening to damage the whole economy, Yes the banks did get greedy, but consumers are also to blame for taking up mortgages that they definately could not afford just because they wanted to keep up with other people, even though sometimes it makes more financial sense to rent!

Definatley agree that Americans are the worst savers. Other weathly countries like Austrailia, Canada and especially Japan do a better job. Our live for today culture is going to bite most of us in the butt later on. Even people in Chile have a better savings plan for retirement than we do.

I certainly don't think it's impossible for a nurse, or any middle income person to become a millionaire in their lifestime.

But I do understand that those with families who live in areas outside the NE and East Coast with lower salaries, might need a little time to get there and I certainly don't judge them harshly for having to work a full time job until their 60s and not being able to go part time or retire in their 30's.

I know why I am going to half to work until my 60s. I accept it. I'm not willing to work 60 hours a week to get there faster, 65 is fine with me. In fact, I'm starting grad school in Jan. to prepare for the 2nd half of my life to bring me into my 60s and beyond.

[lucy1976]

I totally agree Agnus, i sure hope that the poster doesn't get discouraged by all this naysayers...

I do not need to read though this entire tread to know it is a crab bucket. Your original post invites that. It will be interesting to see how vulnerable you are to the crab effect.

Never invite financial advice from nurses and never ask for nursing advice from financial professionals.

[Icandi2006]

I like your ambition and drive. I am curious, did you go into nursing for the $$$ or care for the sick and invalid. Hmmm... sounds like you are one of those nurses who is in it for the $$$. You will burn out quickly. Also what are the plans after 30 and retired??. One more thing before I go... you will be dangerous 60 hours or more as an ICU nurse. What kind of care are you providing?? You will get hired placed in a internship in a hospital ICU, work there for 6 months, you will think you have learned enough to get by and then you will be unleashed to the unsuspecting public. Working agency after agency. Very Sad!!! U work with nurses like that all the time. Only looking for the paycheck. Oh well!!! I hope your other classmates are not like you:uhoh3:

[interleukin]

Your philosophy is understandable considering your very young age. But any attempt to micro-manage life like you have stated would be folly. There are so many holes in your plan you could push a planet through them.

[kath<3, BSN, RN]

OK---maybe I am being too old school, and I am only a nursing student, not a nurse YET. I understand wanting to be financially successful, however, I question if you did not get into nursing solely for the money? Which, if this is the case, I would not want someone like this to be my nurse...I want someone who actually counts the lives he/she touched and helped saved, not the money in his/her bank account....my opinion

[hpcat]

It sounds like you know what you want, I would just suggest you also find a reliable financial advisor (ask successful friends and family) - let him/her know your goals. They can help you develop a strategy of saving and investing that will help ensure you have enough. A lot has to do with the type of lifestyle you want to live, you will need more or less depending on your preferences.

I would suggest keeping health and long term disability insurance, though. I ruptured my C5-C6 disk in 2000 and was disabled for a year and a half. My medical bills added up to around a quarter of a million dollars! Without my insurance, I would have been ruined.

At your age, you can find inexpensive plans for both. Keeping high deductibles on the health insurance can save you a lot of money. Also, someone recommended malpractice insurance, I live in NY where lawsuits are plentiful, it's a good idea! Don't think of insurance as money you're throwing away that you'll never see again (even though sometimes it feels that way), think of them as an investment in your financial security.

As for me, I don't think I could ever totally retire - I'm so workaholic I can't take a week's vacation without climbing the walls!